On 12 March the German Federal Environment Agency published a statement on “Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and visits to swimming or bathing pools or ponds”.
In general, direct transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via swimming and bathing water is highly unlikely. The water in outdoor and indoor swimming pools is subject to constant treatment. Compliance with the generally accepted engineering practice provides extensive protection, even from unknown organisms and chemical substances. Filtration and disinfection are effective methods for inactivating imported bacteria and viruses. As enveloped viruses, coronaviruses are easier to inactivate by disinfection processes than non-enveloped viruses such as noroviruses or adenoviruses.
The water in pools with biological treatment does not contain any disinfectant, so such pools generally carry a certain risk of infection with microorganisms, and users should be made aware of this on site. However, according to the WHO, there is no evidence to date that the novel SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted via water.
Foto: Unsplash / milkovi
